Caramelized Onion Pasta - Easy & Lower Fat Version

Recipe: Caramelized Onion Pasta Recipe »

This easy caramelised onion pasta is the ultimate comfort dinner: creamy, sweet and spicy with Italian herbs, garlic, chilli crisp and Parmesan. Ready in 20 minutes, it is vegetarian-friendly with optional seared scallops. Perfect for a quick, delicious weeknight meal!

About This Caramelised Onion Pasta

This is a viral pasta dish made with an onion, garlic, butter, Italian herbs, chilli crisp and cream. This one pan dish is absolutely delicious and ideal for when you want something simple for dinner but you don't want it to taste simple IYKWIM!! The pasta is creamy, spicy and sweet all at the same time. It was originally created by Chhaya Joshi but I saw an updated version by Ben Chelin that I really liked the look of. I did find it was a bit on the sweet side so I added a little something to balance it.

5 Reasons to Try This Caramelised Onion Pasta TONIGHT

ONE It's made in around 20 minutes including prep and mostly done in the one pan (although you do have to boil the pasta in another pot)!

TWO Its vegetarian friendly. But I'm also going to show you a version with seared scallops!

THREE It's economical and uses ingredients you probably have. Okay I added scallops but they're optional and I usually make it without them.

FOUR I'm also going to show you a LOWER FAT version that tastes just as good as the cream version! Instead of 88grams of fat using cream, it has 21 grams!

FIVE It's Mr NQN's favourite pasta haha!

Video How To Make Caramelized Onion Pasta

Video: How to Make Caramelised Onion Spaghetti

Ingredients For Caramelised Onion Pasta

Butter - Just regular salted butter.

Oil - I used extra virgin olive oil but use your favourite oil.

Onion - Use brown, white or red onions. Golden shallots also work, use same weight.

Garlic - 4 medium fresh garlic cloves.

Chilli crisp - My recipe for chilli crisp is here or you can also buy it at the supermarket nowadays.

Capers - I use baby capers but you can also use capers (not caperberries, they're a bit too mild). Just chop finely.

Seasonings - We are using a medley of seasonings: garlic powder (found in the spice aisle, store in freezer to prevent clumping), sweet paprika, salt, pepper and Italian dried herb mix (also found in the spice aisle and made up of garlic, tomato, oregano, basil, parsley, onion, red bell pepper/capsicum, black pepper and marjoram).

Evaporated milk or cream - The original recipe uses cream but I say why add more fat if you don't need it? I swear that full cream evaporated milk tastes and acts just like cream in this sauce!

Parmesan - Grated parmesan works or you can also use pecorino too. Make sure that it is grated so that it melts into the sauce.

Pasta - I think spaghetti goes really well in this but any long pasta works here.

Scallops - This is optional but I love this to add some protein to the pasta.

Oil - As we sear the scallops in a hot pan, you need a high smoke point oil like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil or ghee.

Tips For Making Caramelized Onion Pasta

1 - Have all of your ingredients ready and prepped and once this is done, it will take around 15 minutes of cooking.

2 - I use a mandolin for the onion. The easiest way is to cut through the onion horizontally and use the ends to grip on with the mandolin grater.

3 - I don't know about you but my eyes water a lot around onions so my little tip is once you cut the onion in half, rinse each half under cold water. This rinses away some of the enzymes that causes tears!

4 - Usually caramelising a big batch of onions takes a while but caramelising one takes less than 10 minutes. It's fine if they brown and sweeten a bit too.

5 - You want me to put aside 2 cups of pasta cooking water? Yes! Creamy sauces absorb really quickly into pasta and you just want a bit more pasta water to loosen it if it does that. You may not end up using both cups but it's good to have it. Alternatively you can drain the pasta into a colander over a bowl to catch the pasta cooking water.

6 - Upp the protein by adding crumbled sausage to it. Or add sliced mushrooms to it for more vegetables (mushroom and sausage would be great!).

Other quick pasta dinners that take less than 20 minutes to cook are: One Pot Pasta, Tuna Pasta or my favourite Avocado Pasta.

Caramelized Onion Pasta Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients Needed

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 large onion, sliced (around 150g/5oz)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1-2 tablespoon chilli crisp (start with 1, add to taste)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped baby capers
• 1 teaspoon each garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, Italian herbs
• 1 cup/250ml/8.8fl oz evaporated milk or cream
• 50g/1.7oz parmesan grated
• 250g/8.8oz spaghetti

Optional

• 6 large scallops
• 1 tablespoon high smoke point oil (avocado, sunflower, ghee)

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 PREP - Place a large pot of salted water onto boil. Cut onion in half horizontally (not through the root). Remove skin and mandolin on the thinnest setting.

Step 2 SAUTE - Heat butter and oil in a large frying pan on low to medium heat and add the onion and saute for 10-15 minutes. If the onion starts to catch a little, add a splash of water.

Step 3 PASTA - While the onion is caramelising, start cooking the pasta until al dente.

Step 4 SCALLOPS (OPTIONAL) - Place a small pan onto high heat and add oil. Pat scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. Place scallops in the hot pan and allow to sear for 2 minutes on each side without lifting. Turn over and repeat on the other side.

Step 5 SAUCE - When onion is golden and caramelised, add the crushed garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the chilli crisp, capers and spice seasoning mix and stir and saute for 1 minute to meld. Add the evaporated milk or cream and then the parmesan and stir in and turn heat down to low once a creamy sauce has formed. The pasta should be ready. Scoop out 2 cups of pasta cooking water and add 1 cup of pasta cooking water to the sauce. Drain pasta and add it to the sauce and stir to coat. If the sauce is too thick add some more pasta cooking water. You can also use a large carving fork to spin the spaghetti onto it. Serve with the scallops (if using).

Personal Note

I made so many versions of this to test it out I tried it with cream, light cream, then evaporated milk and low fat evaporated milk. A lot of testing goes into these recipes just so they come out foolproof or as close to it as I can get.

Mr NQN wasn't complaining one bit though. He loves pasta - apart from sashimi I think it's his favourite dinner. I would see him slurp up fat forkfuls of this caramelised onion pasta wondering how he could fit that much in his mouth. He ATE.

I've mentioned before how Mr NQN is a shy guy who likes to blend into the background. But there is one place where he is the star of the show. When we were recently in Singapore, he found the oddest thing happening.

My tall Australian husband was worshipped by strangers there. But it wasn't the women, it was the men that would look at him like he hung the moon in the sky. I mentioned it to him once and he had to admit he noticed it too. Men there looked up at him with what I can only describe with stars in their eyes. It was kind of cute (but kind of weird for him!).

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been to a country where people like you? Have you ever tried caramelised onion pasta?